Francis M. McKay Elementary in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood had only 80.8 percent of students vaccinated last year, while Legacy Elementary Charter School in North Lawndale had 84.8 percent of children vaccinated against the measles. Both neighborhoods hosted more than one school with low vaccination rates. Continue reading →

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner ignited conversation by sending a memo to the Illinois legislature, calling on lawmakers to prune union rights and government spending just two days before Wednesday’s State of the State address.

The memo prefaced the governor’s cost-saving measures, including state employee rule reforms that Rauner described in the memo as “fair to both state workers and taxpayers.” The note pointed out that federal workers are prohibited from striking and bargaining over wages, benefits and pensions. Illinois union workers are not.

Nearly 27,000 fewer Illinois residents tried for a GED certificate in 2014 than in 2013 after major changes to the high school equivalency exam, according to data by the Illinois Community College Board.

The new GED exam, introduced to test takers in January of 2014, is aligned with Illinois Common Core standards, said Jennifer Foster, the state GED administrator at the Illinois Community College Board. The new education requirements are more rigorous for participants, she said.

Nearly 1,000 community leaders and residents gathered in Hyde Park for a public meeting Tuesday night, where tensions flared over using roughly 20 acres of Chicago Park District land for the Barack Obama Presidential Library.

The two sites, Washington Park and Jackson Park, proposed by the University of Chicago belong to the Chicago Park District. If the Barack Obama Foundation chooses either bid, the land would have to be acquired by the city. Continue reading →